New Orleans Councilwoman-elect Nadine Ramsey, who rode a swell of anti-incumbent sentiment to victory in her race to capture District C, is set to be sworn in May 5. She recently sat down with NOLA.com | The Times Picayune to talk about her future on the council and the thorny issues that await her there.

The conversation lasted for about 30 minutes, so we've broken the interview into two parts. What follows is part one.

Note: Questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity and to include context.

The Holy Cross development in the Lower 9th Ward has caused a lot of controversy, and the issue has yet to be resolved. Have you been following it?

I've followed it somewhat, and I've talked to Councilman James Gray. He's dealt with it a lot longer than I have. I did during the course of the election, to some extent. I spoke with only a few residents, the folks who are opposed to it. And I've told Councilman Gray that I would get with all the stakeholders and get with him. I do like the idea of growth and development in the Lower 9th Ward, but the residents have a concern and I'd like to see what those concerns are.

That kind of tension comes up a lot in New Orleans: the desire for growth and investment on one hand and the desire to preserve the historic character of neighborhoods on the other. What is your philosophy on balancing those two interests, which seem to compete so often.

I think you can balance it. Some would say you can't, that you have to protect the neighborhood, protect residents. Others say you have to have economic growth, that's how you have to do it. But there is a way to preserve it. And we have boards and commissions set up to do that, the Historic Landmark Development Commission, the Vieux Carre Commission and we have ordinances in place and those are sufficient. But we have to remember that sometimes it's the loudest people who get heard, and there are other stakeholders involved who may not be as vocal. They need to be included.

We can't get any economic development or growth if we only want to do historic preservation. I respect historic preservation, and I want to honor it. It's our culture and our history. But every city has to grow, has to have a growth process.

The council, lead by Councilwoman LaToya Cantrell, recently rejected plans for a super-luxury high rise on Tchoupitoulas Street. Rents were set to be as high as $8,000.

Wow. Ok. I think one of the primary concerns, even with the Holy Cross area, any kind of development like that, you worry about gentrification. You want to make sure that our residents still are included, that there is some mixed housing so they can still afford to live in those neighborhoods. Some people may be on fixed income. If you buy them out, that doesn't necessarily mean they can afford to go buy another house.

So you're concerned people could get priced out of their own neighborhood.

You have to protect against that, while recognizing that it's a wonderful thing for people to be able to afford $8,000 a month in rent. That's going to bring a lot to our city. That kind of development and growth is wonderful, but there are ways to protect against locals getting pushed out.

Let's talk about the noise ordinance, which failed recently on a 3-3 vote but will probably come up again under your tenure.

I'm sorry, the "sound ordinance," popularly known as the "noise ordinance." Do you have any insight into what Councilwoman Stacy Head might have been thinking? She would have been the deciding vote.

No, I don't know. I haven't seen or talked to her in the last couple of weeks.

Head's absence aside, what are your thoughts on the sound ordinance? Do you support having one in place?

I support a sound ordinance and I think there is a way to do it. When we commissioned the Woolworth study, I think a lot of people thought they felt like they had a voice. That's the way it needs to be. I think the businesses can support a sound ordinance, but they want one that's livable. They want to be able to have quartets in their restaurants, so it's not always about amplifiers blowing out to the street and karaoke. I think everyone would say they support an ordinance, just be reasonable about it.

If you had been there fore the vote on Thursday, would you have voted for it?

(Laughs) Oh I don't know, I hadn't studied it that much. I want you to be surprised when it comes up again. (Laughs). I didn't have a vote Thursday. But it will come back up again.